PUBG desert map Miramar: Everything we know about the new setting, vehicles and weapons and final desert map release date

PUBG's new desert map Miramar is here, after almost six months of teases, screenshots, datamines and a debut on the test server.

Matching the 8 by 8 kilometer setting of Battlegrounds' original map, the new map is a dusty biome with what appears to be a mixture of vast plains, high story settlements and a coast surrounded by islands.

Everything we know about the new desert map Miramar in Battlegrounds

Between official screenshots, datamines and a test server release, here's what we know about the desert map.

Layout and setting

Shortly before the test server release, we had a complete look at the new map and its key locations:

Placeholder names such as Murderland, Kill Box and Zombie were replaced with final map, with the focal point of the map - the town of Hard Luck - given the name Los Leones (corrected from the awkwad Spanglish "Los Leonas" that it was in an earleir datamine), tying into the Central America / Mexico-themed setting.

Desert map features

The latest layout showcases several prominent locations and features.

A huge town in the south of the map, Los Leones (formally Hard Luck).

These work-in-progress and pre-release images show build up urban environments.

A prison island to the south, connecting to the mainland by two bridges, and other smaller islands along the coast.

There are two craters on the map; one in the north west (Campos Agrícolas) and the La Bienaventurada, just east of the map's centre, both featuring structures inside.

Other unusual locations include a soccer pitch, trailer park, junkyard, production studio, cartel airship and a graveyard. There is also a monastery, which Breene cited as one of his favourite structures, and will allow players to snipe out from the top, as discussed in the following video:

Various smaller settlements in-between plains, tall rocks and dusty hills. The map itself will be surrounded by mountains as its border, while open stretches will be more varied than the game's default map, with more gullys, dips and undulation to deal with when driving - but possibly useful as cover.

Expect more varied topography from the desert setting.

How the desert map has evolved over time

The desert map has evolved significantly since its early sketches, screens and previews, as shown in a video by our own Ian Higton.

Changes include doubling in size to an 8 by 8 kilometer setting (matching the size of the game's current map Erangel), changing a river to the south to a coastline with islands and much more:

New vehicles and weapons in the new desert map

The new setting offers a handful of new vehicles and weapons to play around with:

What is missing, however, is the bicycle that was showcased as part of the map's first render. There's no sign of it in any updates or datamines since, suggesting it won't feature at all. Gone are our dreams of Paperboy-style escapades.

There goes our dreams of biking through the desert.

When it comes to weapons, meanwhile, another Bizzfarts datamine suggests we'll see a Winchester 1894 (Lever-action rifle), a Rhino (Revolver) and a sawed off double-barrel shotgun.

Image credit Bizzfarts.

That double-barreled, sawned off shotgun has since been confirmed by PlayerUnknown himself as a teaser for the new map:

The test servers are now offline. Thank you for helping us test and for all your feedback.

The desert map will be available in the next round of testing. Here's a new weapon, exclusive to the desert map. We will keep you posted regarding the schedule. pic.twitter.com/KCSiMsy3Ug

Everything we know about the desert map release date

As promised by PlayerUnknown and developer Bluehole in a Eurogamer interview, the desert map will make its full debut alongside the PC 1.0 version.

It is currently playable on the game's test server (which is accessible in your Steam library, alongside the full version of Battlegrounds) and will see a full release alongside the 1.0 update on Wednesday, December 20.

Meanwhile, PUBG on Xbox One won't come with the desert map at launch, and instead will come in early 2018. With the console version launching in Xbox Game Preview, it might wait until a 'full release' as with the PC edition before it arrives.

Matthew is Eurogamer’s Guides Editor, responsible for walkthroughs, tips and other helpful things. When not doing that, he's probably out and about collecting StreetPasses. Follow him on Twitter at @crazyreyn.